Vietnamese Giant Crab Spider...PIC (not very cuddly!) >>>

[Paul McCleary]

An unidentified Heteropoda species, I believe. I've spoken with folks who've seen some extremely large Crab Spiders in southeast Asia. One fellow fearfully recounted seeing one in Taiwan on his bedroom window (*shudder*) whose legspan seemed nearly 10" long!

Pleasant dreams! ...

[reverendsterlin]

come on Paul, gotta give some husbandry tips for this lil beastie

[SilverTongue]

ICK is it venomous?!

[Mathew]

I would love to add that to my collection!!! very nice spider, any tips on husbandry?

[Paul McCleary]

These guys were kept in a small (about 5 gallon) hexagon/vertical terrarium with moderate ventilation/humidity with some climbing apparatus (vertical branch), cork bark (for seclusion) and TIGHT-FITTING LID!

They were fairly bold and would only hide sporatically. I might describe them as moderately active but could sure bolt when disturbed! Once they matured (the female's legspan was about 4" and the male's was somewhat smaller), I introduced them to one another. They cohabitated peacefully and uneventfully for about a week until I found the male had been eaten. The female did produce an eggsac 3 weeks later but it did not hatch. She expired a few months later. I have a friend who's successfully bred these (mine were from his latest progeny) and I plan to procure more when he repeats his success!

I doubt their bite is of significant medical importance though I am in no hurry to test this supposition!